On Wednesday 6 December, the European Commission announced that it had appointed two new Deputy Directors-General and seven new Heads of Service.
From 1 February 2024, the Belgian Hans Das, currently director of the ‘Emergency Management and RescEU’ department of the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), will become deputy director-general, almost 20 years after he joined the European Commission.
Dutchman Herald Ruijters has also been appointed Deputy Director General of the Directorate General for Transport and Mobility (DG MOVE), with immediate effect. In the same MOVE DG, Michela Matuella has also been appointed Director of the Inland Waterway Transport Department.
At the Directorate-General for Budget (DG BUDG), the Austrian Michael Erhart is to take over as head of the Central Financial Service. No starting date has yet been set.
Finally, at the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), five new directors will head their respective departments from 16 December: Spain’s Francisco Gaztelu Mezquiriz for the Southern Neighbourhood and Turkey department, Hungary's Adrienn Kiraly for the Western Balkans, Poland’s Anna Jarosz-Friis for the Ukraine department, France’s Mathieu Bousquet for the Thematic Support, Policy Coordination and Financial Instruments department, and Spain’s Victoria Gil Casado for Resources; the date on which she will take up her post has not yet been determined. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)